President Javier Milei’s government says it has declassified and published nearly 500 pages of official documents from Argentina’s intelligence services covering the period 1973-1983, including the seven-year period of the country's brutal military dictatorship.
The documents were published on the official website of the Presidency and are from the archives of the State Intelligence Service (Secretaría de Inteligencia de Estado, or SIDE).
Files range from office supply lists kept by the spy agency to records detailing the creation of departments dedicated to the surveillance of universities, trade unions, companies and political and social organisations.
“We are initiating the procedure for the publication of historical documents corresponding to the period 1973-1983,” said SIDE in a post on its X account.
“The initiative forms part of a policy aimed at strengthening the institutional framework of the National Intelligence System and its responsible relationship with society,” the intelligence service concluded in its post.
At this initial stage, “a set of 26 official documents totalling 492 pages” has been released, along with a guide to the declassification of the documents to facilitate their reading.
The files have been organised into thematic folders based on their historical and institutional relevance, with the aim of making them more accessible and easier to understand.
Some of the documents call for "strategic psycho-sociological intelligence," ordering the monitoring of news media with the goal of "determining the dominant themes, motivations, arguments, ideological characterisation (political, religious, economic, philosophical, etc.), literary, etc."
Others had instructions on how to operate under budget cuts to the intelligence services, such as keeping lights off in unoccupied rooms to save on electrical expenses.
"The publication of historical archives strengthens institutional credibility, helps debunk conspiracy theories and demonstrates a commitment to the truth," according to a guide published with the documents.
The publication of the long-classified files comes a week before the 50th anniversary of the March 24, 1976 coup d'état that saw the country's last military dictatorship rise to power, which lasted until 1983.
Approximately 30,000 people were abducted and disappeared during the era of state terrorism, according to estimates by human rights organisations. Officials in the Milei government say the figure is smaller.
Since the return of democracy, Argentina has prosecuted hundreds of those involved in crimes against humanity during the dictatorship, mainly former military personnel or police officers, although some civilians have also been tried.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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